Syrian refugees

05/03/2017

While America is obsessed with the machinations and tweets by President Trump, Europe is sailing in uncharted waters. After the devastation of two world wars during the first half of the 20th century, with tens of millions of soldiers and civilians dying, there was a dream by some prescient Europeans of a united continent, tied together economically to eliminate the threat of future wars. There was the hope that citizens of individual nations would slowly shed their garments of nationalism and wear the robes of European citizens, retaining only weak links to their homelands.

The growth of the European concept started with the ECSC- the European Coal and Steel Community of six nations, including France and Germany, founded in 1951 under the leadership of Jean Monet, its first president. In 1967, it merged with Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community. Together, they had a single executive body, an institutional structure, and shared a Court of Justice and Parliamentary Assembly. The Maastricht Treaty signed in 1992 sought to integrate Europe into a single unified body, the European Union. The signees included twelves countries including the economic engines of France, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain. Several other steps and treaties towards unification preceded Maastrict, among them the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and the Single European Act in 1986. The Euro, a common currency for the EU was introduced in 1999, further binding the nations of Europe together, though England continued to use the pound.

Since the founding of the EU, it has grown to twenty-nine nations with the same currency and open borders, for goods, capital, and people (Shentgen Agreement). However, the common currency has made life difficult for the countries of southern Europe, whose productivity lags that of the north. Their debt levels have grown enormously, exceeding their ability to pay back their loans without assistance, given their GDPs. Unemployment has also surged since the recession of 2007-2008 and remains at unacceptably high levels, especially among the young. And budget deficits need to be brought under permanent control. Greece is the prime example of these dilemmas, though other nations have similar, though less onerous problems. The imposed solution of austerity, in order to receive loans from the IMF and EU, has caused great hardships for the population of these nations, with little improvement in their debt levels. The obvious answer prior to the advent of the Euro would have been depreciation of national currencies to make their products more competitive relative to other nations and to boost employment. But with the Euro, this was not possible.

The Shentgen Agreement has also caused problems for the countries of the EU. With refugees pouring in to escape wars in the Middle East and Africa, and economic migrants seeking work in the more prosperous EU, difficulties have arisen. A number of nations have refused to accept these new arrivals because of cultural and religious differences, economic concerns, and the threat of terrorism. This has caused a schism in the EU and has led to the rise of nationalism and populism, with political parties wary of the EU and opposed to globalism. Eastern European states in particular have come under the sway of populism and nationalism, with Hungary and Poland now ruled by nationalist parties. So-called illiberal democracies, with one man or one party control, have reared their ugly heads, with ethnocentrism the dominant philosophy. But every state has seen variants of nationalism and populism spread, mainly because of immigration, even in a liberal nation like Denmark.

Another factor that sticks in the craw of most EU countries are the rules and regulations that emanate from the bureaucracy and parliament in Brussels. Many of these conflict with standard practices in different states, forcing them to make unwanted changes. Nations feel this is an unnecessary infringement on their sovereignty over with they have no control.

Open borders, immigration, and Brussel rules and regulations are considered responsible for Brexit last year, with Great Britain the first nation to exit the EU. Britain left in spite of warnings of negative economic consequences and the likelihood that Scotland would split with Great Britain. Blatant nationalism won out over rational choice, with a majority of English citizens wanting control of the borders and immigration. Though a shock to the EU, with British separation yet to be negotiated, continental Europe is still joined together in the EU, at least for the moment.

But will the dream survive? Russian interference in European elections with campaigns of disinformation supporting illiberal democracies are doing damage and must be neutralized. The next major test is the French runoff election between the centrist Emmanuel Macron and the far-right nationalist Marine LePen. Though Macron, who wants to keep France in the EU is favored, a victory by LePen is possible given the unpredictable emotional pull of nationalism and populism. A LePen victory would mean Frexit, with France pulling out of the EU and shattering the dream of a united Europe. If France stays, differences in the economies and debt loads of southern and eastern Europe and the prosperous north, still has to be worked out. But without France, there is no hope. An election in the fall also has to reaffirm Germany’s commitment to the EU. The tide of nationalism and populism with its support of illiberal democracies must be halted as well, if the advances in liberty and human rights realized in the 20th century are to be continued. The dream is fragile

08/01/2016

Conning people has been an integral part of Donald Trump’s life since he was a young man. Lying or exaggerating whenever it was useful is second nature for him, to make him look better than he actually is. And deceiving individuals was automatic, to make it seem as if he was doing something special for them, when he was actually taking advantage of them. Everything he did was to increase his wealth or for self-aggrandizement, to bolster his own ego which must have been crimped in his childhood. Trump the man has a lousy self-image and has to constantly remind everyone how terrific he is, how rich and how smart he is.

Trump has always done anything necessary to beat the system. By hook or by crook, it has always been critical that he best everyone he’s ever dealt with, or at least make it seem that way. No problem using unethical, questionably legal, or even illegal methods, as long as he came out on top. He couldn’t stand having another person able to say that he or she had gotten the better of him; that he had been a loser. For him, that’s the worst epithet that can be employed to describe a person. (And Trump utilizes it liberally for anyone who opposes or criticizes him.)

Trump has also used women to reinforce his self-image, conning them into believing that he liked them before moving on to the next one when his attention span faltered. (Three marriages and how many failed relationships?) His modus operandi also included using women as arm candy, so other men would envy him and he would be held in greater esteem. Fidelity was never an issue for him. Self-gratification and self-aggrandizement were more important.

And he learned at an early age to avoid responsibility for his actions. When younger, his father had been around to get him out of jams, with money or connections. While the Vietnam War had raged, brave Donald had gotten multiple deferments for education. Then when his time had come to go into the service, he had gotten off the hook when a doctor had declared that The Donald had a bone spur on his heel and wouldn’t be able to tolerate the rigors of Army life. (Give me a break! How much do you think that one cost his daddy?) Yes, The Donald who claims that he loves veterans is actually a draft dodger; a coward unwilling to fight for his country. He was happy to leave the job of protecting democracy to all the poor slobs unable to get out of the service; who didn’t have rich fathers to send them to school and manipulate the system to have them evade the draft. And it’s Trump who says that the system is rigged. He’s right. But it is and has been rigged for guys like him. Money and connections.

And the poor slobs who did the fighting in Korea, Vietnam, and America’s more recent wars, are the ones now supporting Trump for president, believing his con that he’s going to do something for them. They’ve been deceived by the lies he’s told them, promising jobs and the industries he’s going to bring back to America, how he’s going to rid America of illegal immigrants and build a wall across the border with Mexico to keep immigrants out. But ask him about the Trump brand suits, ties, shirts and hats that are manufactured abroad, about the undocumented immigrants he’s used on his construction jobs, about the small businessmen he refused to pay for the work they did.

The Donald’s history has been one of constantly scamming gullible people to steal money. There was “Trump University” which scammed students for tens of thousands of dollars they couldn’t afford, getting them to sign up for real estate courses that were going to make them rich by learning Trump’s secrets. Instead, Trump took their money and left them with nothing in return but debt. And there was the “Trump Institute” that did more of the same. Trump’s businesses included his ownership of the New Jersey Generals Football Team that went belly-up and made Trump a loser. And Trump Airlines with the Trump Shuttle was another losing venture for him.

But even worse were his casinos in Atlantic City that went bankrupt, costing investors millions of dollars, employees their jobs, and contractors, sub-contractors, and small businessmen the payments they were owed. The Donald, however, claims that he walked away from these bankruptcies having made plenty of money. Too bad for the suckers who trusted and believed in him.

Now he’s asking the whole country to trust and believe in him. He says that he’s going to make America great again, protect it from terrorism, and reduce crime (even though crime is already at an all-time low). Trump says that he knows more about ISIS than the generals, though it’s not clear where he’s gotten his information or what his plan is to eliminate ISIS. Maybe Putin told him. (Trump’s called General Allen, a four star Marine Corps general a loser because he’s supporting Hillary.) Trump says he gets his foreign policy and military advice mainly from himself, because he’s so smart.

Though Trump has made lots of promises, he hasn’t told us how he is going to get all of these things done. He’s conned people into believing and trusting him in the past and they were all hurt by him. Just trust him and believe in him. He knows what he’s doing and is the only one who can make America great again. Really! Should anyone trust or believe in him given his history. To me, it sounds like the consummate con.

12/16/2015

A nation may be riven by contrasting political views, social issues, religions, races, and so forth. But if citizens are not willing to accept these differences and deal with them in a civil fashion, democracy cannot work. The rants by Donald Trump and some of the other Republican presidential candidates against Syrian refugees and Mexican immigrants runs counter to the America we like to think exists. It appears as if the United States no longer wants the world’s tired and poor, and no longer cares if there are people who are homeless and tempest tossed, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. But is this a dramatic change in the nation’s outlook, or is this way America has been in the past, keeping these attitudes hidden.

Actually, even though America is truly a nation of immigrants, there have always been citizens who wanted to keep newcomers out, for economic reasons or because of outright prejudice. It is easy to forget that the Native Americans, the first people to occupy the North American land mass, were here prior to any European immigrants. The early settlers, mainly the English, French, and Dutch, killed off most of the Native Americans with diseases to which they lacked immunity and in wars where they were overwhelmed with modern weapons. (At the time of initial European contact, it is estimated that there were 90-100 million people living in the Americas, 10 million in the current U.S. and Canada. This was more than the total population of Europe during that period. By the time European colonization began in earnest, however, 80-90 percent of the original inhabitants of the Americas had been annihilated, mainly by European diseases, but also by war and famine).

When the colonists separated from Great Britain and formed the United States, there was a surfeit of land available for those who wanted to farm, and tradesmen and craftsmen were needed to aid the economy. But citizens wanted immigrants who were similar to them and during the 19th century were hostile to Catholics and later on to Chinese. The Know-Nothing Party developed during the 1850s as a manifestation of anti-Catholic sentiment, focusing particularly on blocking Irish immigrants but also German Catholics. The Party elected a number of mayors, state legislators, and Congressmen building on nativist fears. American Protestants were afraid that Catholics were controlled by the Pope and did not subscribe to American values.

Though Chinese immigration started with the California gold rush in the mid-19th century, and work was available building the railroads and in the mines, racial bigotry and hostility to an alien culture soon surfaced. When unemployment grew after the Civil War, the California legislature passed laws banning Chinese immigration to the state and intermittent violence against Chinese enclaves occurred. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress, superseding previous laws and blocking immigration by Chinese laborers. Subsequent legislation made immigration even more difficult and blocked re-entry after trips home to China. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, during the midst of World War II, with China as one of our allies.

To restrict the immigration of Italians, Eastern Europeans (mainly Jews), and Asians, the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed. This set quotas at very low levels on the number of immigrants from various countries who wanted to enter the United States, and completely prohibited the entry of Arabs and Asians. Though earlier laws had had a similar aim, the 1924 bill was much more stringent. Crime and disease in the cities was blamed on these immigrants who did not meet the vision of how Americans should look and act. Supposedly, they also depressed wages for workers who were already here.

During the 1930s and early 1940s, the Roosevelt administration refused to grant entry visas to hundreds of thousands of German Jews who were fleeing from the Nazis. The State Department was “concerned” that this action might antagonize Hitler and that the Jews might require public support since the German government had confiscated all of their assets. In reality, this was a manifestation of anti-Semitism among State Department officials. Untold numbers of deaths resulted from this policy that would not allow desperate refugees into the U.S.

During and after World War II with the American economy booming, immigration loosened up with the Bracero Program starting in 1942, recruiting migrant workers from Mexico to meet agricultural labor needs. Though granting temporary status, many of these millions of workers remained and became citizens. More Asians also migrated to the U.S. and gained citizenship, particularly after the Vietnam War when preference was given to refugees from Indochina. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended the quota system and allowed a wave of immigration from non-European nations, ultimately responsible for transforming America’s demographic make-up. The flow of immigrants, both legally and illegally, mainly from Asia and Latin America, has continued over the last several decades.

America needs immigrants for jobs in the agricultural sector, hospitality and restaurant positions, which native workers tend to spurn. High-tech immigrants, with STEM degrees, many of whom have trained in the United States are also needed to further stimulate our entrepreneurial culture. These individuals form numerous start-up companies, generate patents, and are in demand in mature technology businesses.

In the past at various times, America put up barriers to new immigrants which subsequently came back to haunt us. When people are accepting and understanding of differences, diversity can work for the good of the nation. Deporting millions of immigrants is a foolish idea, as is the demonizing of all Muslims whose aid we need to fight the extremists. Securing our borders is a reasonable concept, but Americans must live and work with the new people who reside in our country. America’s strength has come from past immigration and melding of the differences among various cultures. We should not forget that.